Telepatik

I’ve just saw Walk The Line again. Walk the line is a movie showing the story of two lovers, each of them pretty famous during the port war era in the USA. We are talking on (musician) Johnny Cash life and the love of his life, June Carter. Johnny was interpreted by Joaquin Phoenix, a very admirable performer, specially in this movie.

Jhonny Cash is as famous as Elvis, but less pretentious. All in all, a guy who didn’t really want to be in the mainstream, but honestly wanted to make a living out of music.

Below the 10-list you coul find the extract from the script that illustrates perfectly why to walk the line in marketing you need to NOT walk the line of the market.

10 Walk The Line Points in Marketing

The 10 ‘Walk The Line’ Points for Good Marketing
1. You ask your market and accept the answers. You deal good with reality. Whether is it good or bad, you accept it and try to understand it.
2. You don’t go by the last trend, you invent it.
3. You don’t try to cheat your audience. Never.
4. You don’t talk about things you don’t know or feel or care about. eg. Don’t try to sell your PR story saying that you care about the CO2 footprint if you don’t just to get your name on it.
5. You don’t imitate.
6. You believe in you, your product, your method.
7. You are honest and truly involved with your product /method /etc.
8. You bring it home before someone tells you, just in case you don’t get another opportunity. Jhonny was just lucky.
9. You have sense of humor, and you share it even with those you think you shouldn’t.
10. You don’t walk the line (of mainstream, established codes, what has been done, etc.), you walk your line.

To understand better how I came to this conclusions, please check the following dialogue, it happens between the boss at the record label and Johnny during their first (and only) audition.

Record Label Guy
Hold on. Hold on. I hate to interrupt… but do you guys got something else? I can’t market gospel. No more.

Jhonny Cash
So that’s it?

Record Label Guy
I don’t record material that doesn’t sell, Mr. Cash…and gospel like that doesn’t sell.

Jhonny Cash
Was it the gospel or the way I sing it?

Record Label Guy
Both.

Jhonny Cash
Well, what’s wrong with the way I sing it?

Record Label Guy
I don’t believe you. We’ve already heard that song a hundred times…just like that, just like how you sang it.

Jhonny Cash
Well, you didn’t let us bring it home.

Jhonny Cash
Bring… bring it home? All right, let’s bring it home. If you was hit by a truck and you were lying out in that gutter dying… and you had time to sing one song, huh, one song…people would remember before you’re dirt… one song that would let God know what you felt about
your time here on earth…one song that would sum you up… you telling me that’s the song you’d sing? That same Jimmie Davis tune we hear on the radio all day? About your peace within and how it’s real and how you’re gonna shout it? Or would you sing something different? Something real, something you felt? Because I’m telling you right now… that’s the kind of song people want to hear. That’s the kind of song that truly saves people. It ain’t got nothing to do with believing in God, Mr. Cash. It has to do with believing in yourself.

Jhonny Cash
Well, I’ve got a couple songs I wrote in the Air Force. You got anything against the Air Force?

Record Label Guy
No.

Jhonny Cash
I do.

ps. If somebody can rip this dialogue from the movie to web, it would be really appreciate